The day we went to Ascoli Piceno nu 1 ....... waiting to set the tables

Now when you are at the seaside there is not a lot you can do if it’s raining.

So instead we went inland to Ascoli Piceno and arrived with the rain.

It was still early and the owners of this restaurant had yet to set the tables.

Location; Ascoli Piceno

Picture; down a side street, 2016 from the collection of Andrew Simpson

What we found north of Bologna

We were heading back on the long journey from the coast to Milan and having heeded the warnings of heavy traffic we left Alba Adriatica at 5 in the morning.

And sometime around 11 just north of Bologna we came across this stop over beside the autostrade.

There was no cafe or petrol station just a large parking area with a set of lavatories and two of these concrete shelters with seats and a table.

Like so much about Italy there was a functional simplicity about the stop over.  Just a place to park up, stretch your legs, and take a rest with a sandwich.

Location; north of Bologna

Picture; autostrada stop over, 2016 from the collection of Andrew Simpson

Italy 2016

We were out exploring and came across the castle, high on a hill.

It dated back to to the 16th century.

Location; Italy

Pictures; Adriatica, 2016 from the collection of Andrew Simpson

A view from the balcony .... Italy 2016

Not all sea views are so enchanting.

Location; Italy

Pictures; Adriatica, 2016 from the collection of Andrew Simpson

The day we went to Ascoli Piceno nu 4 .......

We had left the beech for the morning and gone on an adventure.

And despite the rain following us we had had a pleasant time in the small town just inland of Alba Adriatica.

So having taken the sights across the piazza from the bar which had recently celebrated its hundredth birthday it was time to go.

And yep it is just an empty bottle.

Location; at the Anisetta Meletti in Ascoli Piceno

Picture; at the Anisetta Meletti 2016 from the collection of Andrew Simpson

The day we went to Ascoli Piceno nu 3 ....... and then it stopped raining

Now when you are at the seaside there is not a lot you can do if it’s raining.

So instead we went inland to Ascoli Piceno and arrived with the rain.

But then the rain stopped and we discovered this spot beside the Museum

Location; Ascoli Piceno

Picture; when the sun came out, 2016 from the collection of Andrew Simpson

The day we went to Ascoli Piceno nu 2 ....... shopping in the rain

Now when you are at the seaside there is not a lot you can do if it’s raining.

So instead we went inland to Ascoli Piceno and arrived with the rain.

Location; Ascoli Piceno

Picture; man with umbrella, 2016 from the collection of Andrew Simpson

See better days and do better things ........... on a wet rainy day

Now with the prospect of rain the beach didn’t seem an attractive prospect, and so we headed inland.

Not that we escaped the rain.  Instead it followed us and to make matters worse it was that drizzly sort of rain which stopped and started with such regularity that most people gave up on their umbrellas and just headed for cover.

And that is how I came across these three, sitting under a large canvas sheet at a small bar on the edge of one of the historic piazzas.

Whatever caught their attention was only a momentary affair because seconds later the younger women slid back into her original thoughtful pose ignoring the older woman who rambled on, while the man in the background turned his attention elsewhere.

Location; Italy














Picture; in the cafe on the edge of the piazza,  2016 from the collection of Andrew Simpson

........ Italy 2016

Inside the castle.

Location; Italy

Pictures; Adriatica, 2016 from the collection of Andrew Simpson

Sun, sand and beech traders ............... Italy in the summer

The beech traders seem less persistent this year.

I haven’t worked out why because there are as many plying their trade as ever.

 But usually they don’t take no for an answer.  Having approached they ignore the first two polite refusals, stand and repeat their sales pitch and only after the third rejection do they move off.

But not so here on the Adriatic coast.

In many cases they do not even make much of a forceful first approach.

Now that is odd as anyone who has sat on an Italian beach will know.

And not for the first time I have wondered about the economics of it all.  The merchandise is much the same and I doubt these traders have a lot of capital to layout on a large collection of the material they sell.

So does this imply a “Mr/Ms Big” who controls the stock and either sells it on or offers some deal based on sale and return? If so then these dealers I guess have a pre agreed meeting point from which the traders collect their produce and then fan out across the beaches, criss-crossing at regular intervals and times.

We have tried quizzing the odd trader who for obvious reasons seems vague about how the whole thing works and his place in the system.

That said just occasionally while on the road we have come across the beaten up truck of someone who could be the supplier.

The trucks are always loaded high with big black plastic bags full of stuff.
And as if to underline the cheapness of  what is traded on occasion we came across a whole pile of discarded bag which had clearly fallen from a vehicle and not left behind.

That raises that bigger question of who these traders are, where they have come from and what their individual stories are.

Of course I doubt that I will ever know.  They are unlikely to tell me and I am certainly not going to ask.

And in the same way many more established traders will congregate in the fixed markets which seem to take over side roads and whatever bit of spare land there is.

They operate from stalls, with large impressive vans behind them and you are drawn in by the large numbers of powerful electric lights hanging from cables all across the market site.

Some of these will have never seen a beech, or done that walk in the sweltering heat, but others like the woman offering to “do your hair” may well double up and take her turn on the sand.

What are missing are the traders plying the streets in the evening from make shift pitches.  Usually on other resorts they will be the same beech traders who in the day wander between the sun beds and deckchairs and then at might come out selling the same produce to the unwary or those with too much money to give away.

All of which leaves me with more questions and thoughts about the economy of beech trading.

Location; Italy

Pictures; selling and buying in Adriatica, 2016 from the collection of Andrew Simpson

Window shopping

Now with the promise of rain a day on the beach is less than fun.

So for the second time during the holiday we headed inland in search of some culture, and found it in a small town with a series of piazzas which was all the better because it was market day.

And having exhausted all the stalls selling everything from underwear, to kitchen utensils and food we passed this shop.

There was nothing special about its display but it caught my eye and that is that.

Location; Italy

Picture; window shopping, 2016, from the collection of Andrew Simpson

Of thunderstorms, lightening and a power cut

The rain came from the north.

It was not unexpected given that the weather forecast had predicted rain but it was still something of a surprise.

The morning has been the usual bright sunshine with a blistering degree of heat that pretty much drove most of the traders off the beach and left me making jokes about forecasting the weather.

That said the signs had been there had I bothered to look beginning with the wind which got steadily stronger during the morning creating the sort of waves you normally associate with the North Sea.

And then sometime during the afternoon the temperature collapsed it began to rain with the added roll of thunder.

Now I familiar with these summer showers.  Some can be fierce with sudden downpours which have the force to flatten flowers and soak you to the skin in minutes.

Ours was less dramatic and while the rain didn’t go away at least it was gentler for part of the afternoon and then as it does it turned torrential, coming down like stair rods.

And that as they say was that.  But of course despite losing the sun and sand it was not the disaster it might have been once upon a time.

Today most hotels have televisions and most of us will have some sort of electronic device which link us to the big world, offer up music, films or other alternatives.

All of which is a long way from those desperate days when an afternoon of cards, draughts and colouring books were all there was to lift the boredom as the rain fell out of the sky.

Now I never did holiday B&BS but the stories of being sent out after breakfast with an eternity of a day to fill until the guests were allowed back at tea time were real and could only be an ordeal if a British summer proved to be its usual mix of tepid sun and showers.

So as the rain has refused to give up most people have opted for the telly, the Tablet or a variety of other electronic devices, and a few falling back on old fashioned playing cards.

A handful chose to sit on the veranda and watch the wet weather and the brave ventured out seduced by a break in the downpour but armed with a hotel umbrella.

And the high drama was provided by the thunderstorm which marched closer and closer, with its mix of lightning and thunder which temporarily resulted in a power cut.

The shock of the thunder clap mixed with the loss of electrics brought everyone briefly together.  But power was restored in minutes, the storm rumbled off south and pretty soon the rain stopped.

It was just a temporary break from the sun and sand.  Tomorrow will be fair with temperature set to climb to 30° and already as evening falls people are planning for another day on the beach..

Pictures; the Adriatic, 2016 from the collection of Andrew Simpson

Giu' una strada laterale

Ora, quando sei al mare non puoi far di tanto se piove.

Quindi, siamo andati ad Ascoli Piceno arrivando li' con la pioggia.
.
Era ancora presto e i proprietari del ristorante non avevano ancora preparato  i tavoli .

Fotografia; giu' una strada laterale, 2016, dalla collezione di Andrew Simpson, down a side street, 2016 from the collection of Andrew Simpson

In Italy on a day when it rained

 Thursday we woke to one of those days when the idea of sun warmth and a day without rain couldn’t be further away.

The heavy grey clouds almost touched the roof tops, and the rain was that drizzly sort which never really goes away so that you get as far as the bus stop and it starts again.

All of which reminded me that there are places where the sun cracks the paving stones, and an umbrella is something only used to offer protection from the sun.

Location; Alba Adriatica







Picture; side street, 2016, from the collection of Andrew Simpson

In Italia, in un giorno quando pioveva

Giovedi a Manchester ci siamo svegliati a uno di quei giorni in cui l'idea del calore del sole e un giorno senza pioggia non potrebbe essere più lontano.

Le nubi grigie pesanti quasi toccato i tetti, e la pioggia era che piovigginosa genere che non passa mai davvero lontano in modo da ottenere per quanto riguarda la fermata dell'autobus e si ricomincia.

Tutto ciò mi ha ricordato che ci sono posti dove le crepe sole le pietre del selciato, e un ombrellone è qualcosa di unico utilizzato per offrire protezione dal sole.





Luogo; Alba Adriatica



Immagine; 2016 dalla collezione di Andrea Simpson

Stories of an Italian in India ....... part 1 the introduction

Now the thing about holidays is that you end up meeting new people who all have stories to tell and this year has been no exception.

But what makes this year different is that the stories are from Sandra who is Italian and who we met in Alb Adriatica.

And after a chance conversation which included India, vegetarianism and a lot more I asked Sandra to write for the blog.

What will make them just a little different is that the stories will appear as two posts on the same day, one in Italian and a second in English allowing you to choose which you want to read.

So there you have it, a little bit of Italy and something of India and who knows where they will lead.

It could lead to a whole new section on the blog devoted to Italy and its history and its people.

We shall see.

And where ever the stories lead they will also be a perfect way to end what had been a wonderful holiday which started with sun and sand, developed into lots of adventures in the small surrounding towns and ended with the promise of those stories from Sandra.

Location: Italy









Pictures; from the collection of Andrew Simpson

Storie di un italiano in India ....... parte 1 l'introduzione

Ora la cosa sulle vacanze è che si finisce per incontrare nuove persone che tutti hanno storie da raccontare e quest'anno non ha fatto eccezione.

Ma ciò che rende questo anno diverso è che le storie sono da Sandra che è italiano e che abbiamo incontrato in Alb Adriatica.

E dopo una conversazione possibilità che comprendeva l'India, il vegetarianismo e molto altro ho chiesto Sandra a scrivere per il blog.

Che cosa li farà solo un po 'diverso è che le storie appaiono come due posti nello stesso giorno, una in italiano e una seconda in inglese che consente di scegliere che si desidera leggere.

Quindi non lo avete, un po 'di Italia e qualcosa di India e chi sa dove porterà.

Si potrebbe portare a una nuova sezione sul blog dedicato per l'Italia e la sua storia e la sua gente.

Vedremo.

E dove mai portano le storie che sarà anche un modo perfetto per concludere quella che era stata una festa meravigliosa che è iniziato con il sole e la sabbia, sviluppato in un sacco di avventure nelle piccole città circostanti e si è conclusa con la promessa di quelle storie da Sandra.

Località: Italia







Immagini; dalla collezione di Andrea Simpson